Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 386 - 12 - Beastman’s Request_1

Chapter 386: Chapter 12 - Beastman’s Request_1

"Beastmen?" Catherine paused before shaking her head helplessly. "Should have expected it. Aside from them, who else would be causing a riot in this kind of environment?"

"Yep, they came from the Beastmen Prairie." Pannis explained, "And they just arrived today. It seems they want to commission some kind of task. But since the adventurer’s guild is on vacation today, a friend pulled me out to have fun with nothing better to do."

"A task from the beastmen?" Lina asked in puzzlement. "Doesn’t the guild have branches in several mega-tribes over there? Why come all the way here to commission a task?"

"It must be an upper-level task of Silver Rank or above." Catherine speculated. "For those tasks aimed at upper-ranked adventure teams, the branches cannot accept them; they must be issued at the headquarters. That should be why they came here."

"How about it, should we go and see?" Pannis asked, "The commission fees for tasks of this level are quite high, and we could make a big profit from just one task. The education work over there is still ongoing, so if we go now, we might get a head start. Then we can snatch the task at the guild when the time comes."

"But that’s the Beastmen Prairie. It’s not close at all, nearly a month’s journey." Catherine was clearly tempted by the potential rewards but still hesitated. "Plus, we just returned ten days ago. We’ve all been really tired and haven’t gotten a good rest. Starting off on a new adventure now doesn’t seem wise."

"But it’s the Beastmen Prairie! I’ve never seen a prairie before." Lina’s eyes lit up with excitement. "Vivian, have you seen one before?"

"No." Vivian answered absentmindedly, "Huh? What did you ask?"

"Today is a holiday. Get rid of all those formulas and recipes in your head. We forbid you from thinking about those messy things today. Enjoy yourself and have fun for a day." Lina slapped Vivian’s soft hat and asked her again, "Have you seen a prairie before?"

"Of course not, how could I possibly have seen a prairie?" Vivian chased Lina’s playful hand away with her magic staff. "But I’ve heard it’s like a green ocean, a spectacular sight. If you haven’t been, you’ll regret it for a lifetime."

"Well, I did go once, but since you all seem eager to go, let’s go have a look." Catherine finally consented, "However, thinking about it now is pointless. We might not be able to take the job if it’s not suitable. Alright, Pannis, take the lead. Let’s join the crowd."

"You guys go. I’ll continue to sleep." Vivian rubbed her eyes, then struggled to crawl back into her tent, "Wake me up in two hours. I haven’t had enough fun yet."

"Hmm, then I won’t go either." Lina looked troubled as she tugged her soft silver hair, "I’ll stay and look after them."

"No need, I’ll stay back and watch the kids." A maternal glow spread over Freya’s round face, looking gently at the sisters Michelle and Ansha. "After all, whether or not we can take the task has nothing to do with me. I’m going back to continue my studies with the teacher after the festival. Thus, there’s no need for me to join. You guys go eavesdrop."

"We’re clearly going to listen openly." Lina pouted her lips, then pulled Catherine and Pannis toward the direction where they heard the noise."

"So, whenever you come to a place, respect the customs of that place. You may not follow these customs, but you cannot affect others by not doing so. Just like your behavior just now, it doesn’t show any of the typical beastman’s straightforwardness and generosity. It only invites others to ridicule. Do you know why? Because true straightforwardness and generosity do not affect others; noisiness and disturbance are not straightforwardness and generosity. They’re just bad habits. Understand?" The voice, sounding somewhat old, was not loud but full of energy, making the noisy beastmen listen carefully without daring to argue.

"Seems like the lecture is not over yet." Pannis stifled a laugh, covering his mouth. "The elder really can talk. It’s been five minutes."

"What’s with your sneaky laugh?" Catherine asked suspiciously, glancing at Pannis. "Are you up to something? Hmm, I get it. You must have lured this elder over here. You cheeky fellow, you do have your moments of usefulness after all."

"Heh, we have no choice. This issue is challenging for others to resolve. After all, it involves the daily lifestyles of two races. Even if outsiders don’t like it, they can’t just call it out." Pannis pretended that he didn’t notice Catherine’s sarcasm and took her words as compliments, he answered patiently, "Among the entire valley, only this elder can handle it."

"From what you’re saying, this old man is a Beastman." Catherine quickly grasped the meaning of Pannis’s words: "He’s a legendary figure, a Beastman, and an elder, no wonder these people dare not utter a word."

The three of them secretly hid behind several trees, peering out curiously. An old Fox Clan Beastman was sitting cross-legged on the ground. His fur was turning gray, but his spirit was unusually vibrant. Across from the old Fox Clan Beastman sat seven other Beastmen, also sitting cross-legged, looking dispirited as they listened to his lecture. Although they weren’t from the same tribe and therefore not subject to the same hierarchy, the custom of respecting the elderly and the strong stopped the Beastmen from uttering any nonsense. Instead, they nod their heads occasionally to show that they were listening attentively, so as not to let the old man think they had dozed off.

"I apologize, everyone." Having berated the young Beastmen, the Fox Clan elder finally let them off. He raised his voice so everyone in the vicinity could hear, "The children are ignorant and have disturbed all of you. I would like to apologize to all of you and hope that you are not angry with these children."

"The old fox sure knows how to handle things," Pannis exclaimed softly, "With just a few words he managed the situation, both scolding and protecting the youngsters. If they had continued their squabble, it might have started a brawl with people from other guilds."

"Hush, keep your voice down," Lina pulled at Pannis’s clothes: "Are you not afraid that he’ll overhear you?"

"What’s there to be afraid of? I’m praising him, not secretly cursing," Pannis replied nonchalantly, "Besides, what’s the point of whispering? With his ability, he’d have noticed us from ten meters away."

"That’s right, heh, I noticed you guys a while ago," the Fox Clan elder turned his face with a mischievous smile on his face, "So, after you incited me to educate these youngsters, are you planning to supervise now?"

"I apologize, Mr. Newman, it was me." Catherine glared at Pannis, crawled from behind the tree, and walked straight up to the elder. Sitting not far from the Fox Clan old man, the Beastmen being lectured, and the three adventurers formed a triangle.

"En? You are..." The old Fox Clan Beastman, addressed as Mr. Newman, gave Catherine a surprised look and started scratching his head. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, "I remember now; you’re a child of the Field family, named...Catherine. How time flies; you’ve grown up since I last saw you years ago. It’s a pity your father had such talent. If he had stuck to being an adventurer, he would have been much better off rather than exploring the remote, uninhabited islands in the sea in search of rare resources. Ah, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have mentioned these things."

"It’s fine, Mr. Newman." Catherine’s politely forced smile was almost impeccable," I respect my parents’ choices. Besides, I’m doing well, and mentioning these things only makes me miss them more, not displeased in any way."

"Good, that’s good. I heard you also became an adventurer, and quite a famous one at that." Newman looked Catherine up and down, and glanced at Lina and Pannis who had sat down behind Catherine, and said with satisfaction, "Very good, reaching the Gold Rank at such a young age. You’re almost catching up to your father’s strength. He would be comforted in the Divine Kingdom knowing this."

Catherine nodded with a smile and replied confidently, "I am confident that I will always make my father and grandfather proud."

"Very good, a good child indeed," Newman glared at the seven Beastmen on the side, he let out a sigh as if looking at a group of helpless children, "Catherine, I believe you didn’t come here just for a visit."

"Indeed, I am here to inquire about a mission." Catherine pointed to Pannis behind her, "My teammate, Mr. Pannis, you just met him. Another one of our members is Priest Lina. Pannis mentioned earlier that these gentlemen had traveled from the prairie to post a mission. We are planning to explore the prairie, so we wanted to inquire about the mission. If it suits us, we are interested in accepting it. Conveniently, you are here. You are the person in charge of the Adventurer Guild’s member area. Although the tasks these gentlemen need to post in the City of Knowledge are for the upper member area, we’re hoping, if it’s not too much trouble, to have you as a witness."

"I see," Newman stroked his beard and nodded, "Being a witness is certainly no problem, and you guys," (addressing the Beastman), "you should explain your mission in detail for Miss Catherine. Most high-ranking adventure teams are away on missions recently, and few have free time. You guys were lucky to have attracted a team by causing a ruckus. Okay, let’s hear it."

"The situation is actually quite simple." One of the seven Beastmen, a tiger Beastman, started, only to realize his voice was too loud. He quickly lowered his volume and continued, "Near our tribe’s fields, there’s a group of mountains where undead frequently appear. This phenomenon has been continuing for hundreds of years; it’s caused by the accumulation of the Energy of Death, and there’s no way to completely deal with it. Fortunately, the undead mainly keep to a specific area and never step out of it. As long as we don’t go in, we won’t get hurt, and there haven’t been any unfortunate incidents. However, a year ago, the undead started to become more active, and their activity area is gradually expanding. Our leader worries that if it continues like this, the undead will soon invade our ancestral lands on which we’ve relied for generations. Therefore, we sent professionals into the mountains to investigate the cause of the abnormal undead activity, but none of them returned. Later, we went to a nearby adventurer guild to post a mission, but twice, the entire team that accepted the mission was wiped out deep within the mountains. Only during the second time did two severely injured scouts escape and report back, saying that the undead inside were very strong. We would need at least a Silver Rank adventure team to deal with them, or we might as well hire mercenaries to wipe out all the undead in that area. So, on their suggestion, we came here."(To be continued. If you like this piece, please consider voting and recommending it at qidian.com. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)